Ties that bind
by Sigma
Summary: After 16 years away, Sophia Donner finally has to return to face all she left behind in Wolf Lake.
1. Prologue

Title: Ties that bind  
  
Author: Sigma  
  
Disclaimer: I know nothing, I own nothing, I'm really not worth suing. All characters here apart from Catriona Donner and any original characters that might slip in belong to the God like producers of Wolf Lake. Anyone original belongs to me. Take note.  
  
Rating: PG -13, AU - Futurefic - romance/drama  
  
Summary - After 16 years away, Sophia Donner finally has to return to face all she left behind in Wolf Lake.  
  
Prologue  
  
The woman moved smoothly around the corner, ever sense hyper alert in the dark. The prey was somewhere close ahead, its heart beating fast in the dark. This was the moment she loved most, sliding through the night like a shadow, an incarnate shape of all man's most primeval fears, with only the steady thrum of the over excited heart of the victim to focus her senses on. There - right there. Gathering her limbs she sprang for the kill.  
  
And was rewarded with a squeal of delighted laughter.  
  
"Mummy!"  
  
"And what's my girl doing up so late? You should be in bed, little one."  
  
The small pouting fact looked up at her through the darkness. "Had a bad dream again, Mummy."  
  
With a quick heave Sophia picked up her daughter and carried her into the lamp lit living room of the apartment.  
  
"Was it the Wolves again sweetheart?"  
  
The small face crumpled into a frown, baby blues wide with worry. "All the Wolves Mummy - all bloody and dying, and all the traps!"  
  
"Was it soon, little one?"  
  
The frown intensified as her daughter tried to place the dream in time. "Not soon Mummy. I was this big", her hand waved in the air at vaguely twice her present height. Inwardly Sophia sighed in relief. Not for years yet. For even though the Pack had rejected her she still knew that one day she would have to go back. Not for her - she didn't need them, but for the sake of her baby, her little true Dreamer, who stared up at her with bright blue eyes. The eyes of her father all over again. Lucas Cates' eyes. 


	2. Chapter 1

Please review!  
  
Chapter 1  
  
10 years later..  
  
Catrina Donner shifted again in her seat, restless. Her mother looked over at her and smiled. " You really are biting your tongue."  
  
She shot her mother a suspicious look. "What?"  
  
"I mean I haven't heard one 'are we there yet' for the last hour and a half."  
  
Cat attempted to glare at her for a minute and then her flash of bad temper vanished in face of the impish humour on her Mom's face.  
  
"It's just", she gestured vaguely, settling down to fidget with her seatbelt, "so huge, you know? I've been seeing this place in my dreams for years, I know it, but I've never been there, and now we're actually going. And I'll finally get to see Grandpa's house, and your school, and Grandma's.. and..stuff." Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of her Mother's face in her peripheral vision. The small frown lines that were only apparent when her Mom was really stressed were there, and her hand grasped the steering wheel a little too tightly. It was at times like this she really wished she already had her Wolven sense of smell. Her Grandpa had assured her it was coming but sometimes 15 years seemed an awful long time to wait for something so useful. She reached out to touch her mother's leg.  
  
"It'll be okay, Mom, it really will. Me and you against the world - remember? Just the two Musketeers." Her Mom absently clasped her hand in response and straightened visibly.  
  
"You're right - it will be fine. None of them can hurt us unless we let them." But her knuckles didn't relax and quietly their mental link echoed with her determined thought.and I'll kill them if they try.  
  
As daughter glanced at mother in concern neither of them noticed the sign flash by - Welcome to Wolf Lake - come back soon. 


	3. Chapter 2

Please review!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork. Sometimes being Alpha of the Pack really felt like more work than it was worth. With a sigh Luke Cates pushed his hair out of his eyes as he settled down to yet another application for planning permission. As Alpha every thing had to be passed by him before it could go to the official human authorities, but sometimes he wondered if people gave him all this trivial crap just to annoy him. Outside the woods were dappled with sunlight and for a moment he almost gave in to the temptation to go and run. The glades would be dappled with sunlight and alive with the sound of birds and small prey, the leaves rustling overhead. he shook his head ruefully. He had paperwork - and he would run tonight. But he would get a sandwich now. Maybe it would combat the cravings. The house echoed around him as he padded to the kitchen. Vivian was out somewhere, probably at the school, or at the hospital and without his mother the old house seemed even emptier than it did usually. He cricked one shoulder absentmindedly as he emptied the refrigerator. When he was growing up this place had been alive with the sounds of family, Ruby and her twin Louisa fighting and playing, his mother and father laughing together, and his own childish contributions. But now it reproached him with its silence. 33 years old, youngest Alpha the pack had ever had, and no mate, no cubs, no heir. And not one of the many beauties the Pack could provide who could even tempt him beyond the lusts of the moment. Not since he was 17 and Sophia. Sophia Donner he mused, I wonder where you are now? 


	4. Chapter 3

Please review - all reviews make me write faster..  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Cat shook her head in irritation. The constant quiet hum of voices in the back of her head was annoying, like the distant buzz of thousands of bees. If she hadn't been used to walling out the thoughts of others since she could first remember it would have surely driven her nuts. As it was it was a constant readjustment of her mental blocker, like these signals were sneaking in at a different frequency. God couldn't these people think quieter? Yet a little part of her was thrilled. These really were her people, which was why it was so hard to block them out. She shook her head again and caught her granddad giving her a quizzical look.  
  
"Sorry Grandpa." She smiled sheepishly and gestured to her head. "People think LOUD around here".  
  
The look of confusion faded into amusement, touched with something else she couldn't quite identify, affection and.fascination? "Your mother always told me you could pick up the mental channels so young, but I never really thought. How old were you when that first happened?"  
  
She shrugged. "Since I was really small. Really, really, small. Mom? When did I first tell you about it?"  
  
Her mother cocked her head in though, tucking her long legs under on the couch. "I think you were 5, maybe six. You were six when Sherman came to visit to give you lessons."  
  
Her daughter brightened. "Is he going to come around? He's cool." She stopped, baffled at the amused looks that passed between her grandfather and her mother.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Honey - Sherman has been appearing and disappearing at random ever since I was a boy. You can be assured he'll come and see his protégée as soon as he knows you're here."  
  
"Great! While I'm waiting can I get a sandwich?"  
  
"Sure. There's fixings in the fridge"  
  
Sophia fixed her father with a steady stare as her daughter raided the fridge in the next room. He stared back. The 16 years of her "exile" had been kind to Matt Donner. Still the Sheriff, his strength had solidified into a rock like power, more bear than Wolf to the outside eye. His hair was lightly pattered with grey, and there were a few more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, but to all outward appearances he seemed the same as he had the last time she had seen him, five years ago, in New York. He hadn't been able to risk leaving the town again since then, afraid of both the chaos that seemed to erupt whenever he left and the chance of the Alpha setting someone on him to track down his elusive, reject daughter. He looked back at her, drinking her in with his eyes. She had turned into everything he and Marie had ever hoped for. The woman opposite him was elegant and composed, slender and athletic, holding her 33 years with grace and pride. The long legs tucked under the couch cushions were lean and muscled and her hair poured in a mink like sweep down her back. She was still built like a dancer, or a runner and bringing up Cat single handedly had not led to any obvious physical signs of change. And her mind.well she had taken every opportunity and run with it. Just as he would have always wanted.even if it hadn't started out that way.  
  
16 years earlier  
  
"You're what!?"  
  
"I'm pregnant."  
  
Matt Donner glowered down at his 17 year old daughter in disbelief. "How can you be pregnant - I mean..."  
  
"It just happened Daddy, I didn't mean to."  
  
"But - Sophia!"  
  
She gazed up at him with huge, tear filled brown eyes and Matt felt his fury waver. Distractedly he ran his hands through his hair and turned to the rooms other occupant.  
  
"And what do you think about this?"  
  
Sherman shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "It's biology."  
  
Matt stared at him, his breath coming in short, angry pants. "It's biology. Great. My 17 year old daughter gets pregnant with Lucas Cate's child and all you can say is - it's biology! How helpful is that!?"  
  
Sherman cocked his head to one side. "And how do you know it's the Cate's boy anyway?"  
  
Matt stopped in his pacing, momentarily nonplussed. "Who else.Sophia, it is the Cate's boy's?"  
  
His daughter sat up on the couch, one hand hovering protectively over her abdomen. "No Daddy, it's mine. My child - your grandchild. And as far as I'm concerned it has no connection with anyone else in this town."  
  
Present Day  
  
And that was the last she would ever speak of it. Over the years Matt heard a thousand rumours about why his daughter had felt the desperate urge to run as far away from Wolf Lake as possible, and why Vivian had never sent someone after her as she had the errant Ruby. The whole Pack had tacitly agreed that if she hadn't flipped by her 17th birthday, she obviously was never going to, and it was far better for a half bred to leave the town where she was always going to be treated as a reject. Especially since Sherman and her father would vouch for her silence to the outside world. Only a few rumours may have mentioned that Luke Cates sleeping with and then abandoning her might have had something to do with it. And not one of those rumours mentioned the child. And when the Town had let ago she had fled as far as she could and never came back. Unexpectedly Sherman turned out to have contacts and a serious amount of money held in stock, and despite all their refusals had insisted that Sophia use them. She had spent the first year staying with an old Native American woman in New York, as she home schooled, graduating with excellent SAT scores and then in an act of purest defiance had taken both her and her child as far away as possible. As far away as possible in this case being the University of Cambridge in the UK. Six years of veterinary medicine at undergrad, then once she qualified she started all over again - 4 years at Harvard, on the Health Sciences and Technology MD program. And every summer she had worked for wolf behavioural programs tracking the Wolvens genetic "cousins" across the Tundra and in captivity.  
  
Sophia snuggled further down into the soft cushions of the couch opposite her father, for once content just to do nothing. Her job as the Head Veterinarian of the Northern Road Sanctuary in Colorado didn't leave her with much free time. And what she had was preoccupied with her own personal crusade, the creation of an accelerant to complete the flip. At the beginning it had been for Cat, but after it was obvious that her daughter was unlikely to have any problems flipping, especially after a childhood brought up next to her canid relations, it became a crusade to try to prevent those graves in Wolf Lake cemeteries from multiplying. Using her daughter and her own blood as a culture she had made some amazing discoveries, she was so close to nearly fixing the formula.and then Cat started having her dreams again. Vivid, bloody dreams, but it wasn't until she started seeing her own Grandfather's dead body in those dreams that her Mom finally agreed to take them back to Wolf Lake.  
  
And here she was, back in the town she had run thousands of miles from, holding both her own secret and that of her daughter and knowing that very soon, for the survival of the pack, both would soon be common knowledge. And she only hoped she hadn't left it too late. 


	5. Chapter 4

I'm grovelling for reviews here..  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Dinner, was as always at the Cates house, a somewhat strained affair. In yet another attempt to match make her errant son Vivian had invited Jenny Sorkin over, a bubbly, rather air headed 26 year old blonde. As always with these attempts, after the first five minutes of pointless small talk Luke just couldn't summon the energy to continue and left the flirting to his far more sociable second in command. From her position at the other end of the table, Vivian eyed her son in frustration. What was wrong with the boy? He was in good health, well off, good looking, strong shoulders nicely filling out the cream shirt, quite intelligent.actually that was what was wrong. He was too intelligent for his own good. Too sentimental about the personal. While in relation to pack business he was as brutal as any Alpha, when it came to choosing a mate his romantic side got the better of him. She had tried to explain that if he mated for power, affection would follow, but every time she did he threw back her own undiminished passion for Matt Donner back in her face. The last time he had shown any palatable affection for any female other than herself had been that Sophia girl when they were just 17. And as had been forcibly pointed out to him at the time any Wolven who wanted to be Alpha couldn't afford to take a reject for a mate. It would be deadly for both of them, as the females would attempt to seize her place and the males would use her weakness to attack him. She had been the most insistent at pointing this out to him, especially after her son's attempt to get Sophia to flip through sex had failed but now she sometimes thought that it would have been the a better solution than the present one, where her son remained single, cubless and resolutely unswayable.  
  
Jenny's chirpy voice broke into her musings insistently. "I said - did you hear that Sophia Donner's back in town?"  
  
Vivian abruptly jerked back into reality, as did her son. Their eyes met across the length of the table, and this time when his narrowed she was forced to look away.  
  
"Sorry, Jenny - what was that?"  
  
"Luukkee. You're not listening. I said Sophia Donner - you know that girl who didn't flip? Well she's back in town. She's staying at her Dad's place - and Emily, who lives next door said she saw a kid with her."  
  
Vivian's ears pricked up. A child! So Sophia had found herself a lover, and was proven to be fertile, not always a given among the blood of Wolf Lake - while her errant son had remained single. She was willing to bet that this new development would give him some food for thought. She was proven right in more ways than one as he excused himself from the dinner table soon after, leaving a pouting Jenny in his wake.  
  
Luke stood at the door to the house as he methodically shucked his clothes, leaving them in an untidy pile on the steps. Part of his mind was revelling in the night air, cool and balmy against his overheated skin, alive with the numerous sounds of birds and wildlife, small things moving through the undergrowth. But the other, dominant part of his brain was going round in circles. Sophia Donner. Back after all these years. And with a child! Who had been her lover - who had dared to touch what was.a sharp pain interrupted the train of thought and he looked down to see his already sharpened nails had pierced his still human soft palms. Great. She was only in town for a few hours and already she was affecting his equilibrium. With a shrug of annoyance he slipped his skin, as easily as one man would exchange his work clothes for the oldest, most comfortable pair of jeans he owns. Shaking his heavy grey coat comfortably into place over his massive muscles he loped off into the night.  
  
Cat stirred from her comfortable position on the coach, cheese nachos in hand. There had been a noise outside the window, and not one she recognised. And coming from a girl who had spent the last three years getting up close and personal with all sorts of wildlife at the sanctuary, that was saying something. She frowned absentmindedly. Her Grandad was out doing Sheriff things, Sherman had already been around for the day and her mother was off on one of her periodic excursions. So nobody in this house but her and her heebie-jeebies. So - strange noise outside, her - cosy and warm inside.but curious. This place was turning out so weird in a familiar, but not really at all kind of way. And she'd be really pissed off if she allowed herself to get scared of it on her very first day. Summoning her bravado she padded to the back door and stepped out onto the porch, where it overlooked the forest that encroached almost to the doorstep.  
  
The night was quiet, the only sound the rustling of leaves and the distant cry of a fox. She scanned the darkened woods but couldn't see anything in the blackness. But that was the problem, it was too quiet, all the little animal noises that normally reverberated through the undergrowth were silent and even the birds had stopped calling. And by the hair on the back of her neck, something was definitely watching her.  
  
She hesitantly took another step onto the porch, away from the security of the lighted doorway.  
  
"Hey - is someone out there? 'Cause it's really rude to stare."  
  
The feeling didn't abate, if anything it intensified as what her Mom called her 'spidey sense' started to kick in. She narrowed her eyes and reached out with her mind, lifting her shields and extending the little feelers that she liked to think of as mental hands. This was the first time she had done this in Wolf Lake and for a moment the noise and colours dazzled her, like staring into the sun at mid day.  
  
Usually, even where there were people their minds were clouded and murky, only the strongest thoughts and emotions hitting her, the rest of the collective mental hum merely background noise. But here, the small minds of the forests more normal denizens were clouds of white heated focus kill- feed-mate-run, and the minds of the human townsfolk were the normal murk of impenetrability, but in among them were brilliant clouds of colour, swirling and complex, thoughts humming and buzzing, ranging from the eager childishness of what's that - why? to the complex harmony of adults engaged in a thousand and one thoughts at once. And they were all open to her - not just the public channels where information and gossip swished along at the speed - literally-of thought itself, but the intimate one on one conversations and even the interior monologues that went on in a ceaseless 24/7. And one and all, from the adults on the hunt to the children playing - they were all her people. People like her, for the first time ever! How could Mom have ever left this? It was intoxicating, like the wine she had been allowed last Christmas -heady and rich. So many thoughts, so many people, so many colours. Like a kid in a candy store she reached for a particularly fascinatingly coloured one - all silver chased gold, slightly isolated from the rest, and then drew back abruptly in embarrassment as all the lectures she had ever had from Sherman on the potential complications of eavesdropping rose up to chastise her conscience. Bummer - having a conscience was a real pain sometimes.  
  
With a frown she brought back her mind to the cause in hand. Carefully she narrowed her focus to the woods near the house. There was only one mind there, strongly shielded, but leaking droplets of information. Male, considerably older, really strong, golden and copper to her mental vision, chased with bits of scarlet and the purple of - regret? That was weird. Vanilla and focused intent and cool amusement at watching her from the shadows. She scraped her foot along the deck, suddenly annoyed that he should feel he could just stare at her with impunity.  
  
"Come out, come out - wherever you are! I can feel you, you know. And if you don't want my Grandpa really mad at you better come out right now."  
  
The watchfulness changed to momentary startlement and then deepened to rich amusement, before abruptly starting to fade as the presence loped away, the bushes around the house not even moving at his departure. She kept her focus on him as he moved away and the denizens of the forest started their normal chorus in relief. An irrational irritation rose up in her and she shouted before she even knew she had.  
  
"Wimp - can't even face a girl?"  
  
But the fading mental cloud showed no sign of response or slowing its flight and she stalked back into the house in disgust. At least cheese Nachos and Buffy were reliable, even when your own life was really weird. 


	6. Chapter 5

All reviews are great - glad to see you like it so far - I hope you are in for the long haul for I can see this extending somewhat.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Luke padded away into the undergrowth, mentally grinning at the impassioned insult that hung in the air after him. Wimp? No one had called him a wimp for as long as he could remember. He admired the girl's bravado. New place, new people and she wasn't even the slightest bit intimidated, or at least to the naked eye. Even her scent had been curiousity, mixed with faint apprehension and over all of it a heady scent that bore traces of Sophia in its complexity. Pretty girl too, under all that attitude, lanky and growing still, with dirty blonde hair and storm blue eyes and her mother's easily flushing skin. All in all, a very interesting addition to Wolf Lake.  
  
He had found himself at the house almost before he knew he was going there, his sub-conscious taking over before his reason had a chance to have a look in. But he was willing to admit that some part of him was desperate to see her again, to dispel the fantasy that had haunted him for 16 years, to replace it with a harsh reality he could put to one side and move on. But she hadn't been home, and only the waft of her scent - dimly remembered and richly recalled, had poured through the open door after her daughter, wafting round him with gossamer fingers. But even that scent - so much more complex than the girl he remembered, rich and wild, telling of cities and places he had never been, even that was enough to partially intoxicate him, and he moved through his woods in a cloud of it, his nose unable to remove it completely from his senses.  
  
Which was why, he later justified, that he never saw the other wolf until he was almost on top of her.  
  
One minute he was happily loping along, the next minute a thunderous snarl startled him so much that he leapt straight up in the air with a squeal like a cub, skidding to a stop and staring about goofily. And then realising with a sinking heart quite how totally ridiculous he looked. Irritation quickly replaced embarrassment and his hackles rose as he scouted about for who, exactly, had dared to so embarrass their Alpha - for whom these woods were a private fiefdom.  
  
She was standing, partly concealed, in the undergrowth at the other side of the clearing. For a minute in the moonlight he thought she was merely a trick of smoke and mist - a mirage created by the moonlight. And then the clouds cleared and she was still there, all the glimmering white coated slenderness of her, golden eyes gleaming.  
  
He frowned mentally, uncertain. Was it Ruby? He couldn't be sure. She was so seldom seen these days, as she almost never came down from her mountain home. And when she did she was always in her human skin. In fact he couldn't remember seeing her in Wolven form for over 10 years. But it had to be her, for there were no other White Wolven in existence, and she was one of his people, of that there was no doubt. And there was something naggingly familiar about her. He sneezed in irritation. He couldn't even make out her scent, his nostrils were still so clogged from the Donners.  
  
'Ruby?' - he tentatively sent.  
  
She looked back at him, silent and aloof - and then turned and vanished into the undergrowth like a silver shadow.  
  
'Hey - wait!'  
  
His momentary confusion was quickly followed by irritation as he loped after her. Half sister or not she was still one of his Pack and she owed him a duty of, if not obedience, at least common courtesy. But when he reached the other side of the clearing she had vanished into thin air, no scent or marking left that he could follow, a trail gone cold as if she had never been, leaving him irritated and baffled in her wake. He scouted for her trail for another half an hour, until he gave up in disgust and loped home, vowing to have words with his sister one of these days. 


	7. Chapter 6

Still going - I'm going to be bringing some complications. And for time line - well this is majorly AU as is the view of any other shows that may intersect with it.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Sophia slipped through the woods at the back of the house and changed, easily exchanging her glimmering white pelt for the everyday jeans and t- shirt. God - that had been a rush. To finally run in these woods, the woods she had been forever partially barred from before, to roam the night as an equal and a predator, where others of her kind lived. She had surprised a rabbit and treed a squirrel, not from any kind of hunger, but purely for the wild pleasure of living, the hunt and the sudden spurt of adrenalin, and had raced through the undergrowth, leaping fallen logs, Queen of all she surveyed, a predator at the top of her game. And then Luke Cates had appeared.  
  
She hadn't even stopped to think, her whole body and every instinct had reacted to the presence of a potentially dangerous male, freezing in place and snarling, every hackle risen. And then nearly ruined the effect by mentally sniggering as the huge silver tipped grey had leapt his own body length in surprise and come down on top of his own paws.  
  
And it was only then she got an uninterrupted view of him. God - he was huge, all the slim ranginess, and the not quite finished look she remembered gone, replaced by solid muscle and a formidable breadth across the shoulders. His hackles had risen and then as he caught sight of her he had stopped, palatable puzzlement replacing the previous aggression. She was amazed he hadn't already recognised her scent and had resigned herself to at least one secret being prematurely spilled that night and then he spoke.  
  
Ruby? He thought she was Ruby? Did they look so much alike? How many White Wolven did he know anyway? A sudden flash of all the pain and anger this man had caused her flashed though her mind, being forced to birth Cat alone, apart from family and the comfort of the familiar, being forced to flip alone for the first time, crying in agony as her body reshaped, desperately afraid for the child she carried within her. All that, she could lay at his feet. She stared at him coldly, all her earlier uncertainty gone. He may be Alpha, but he was not Her Alpha.  
  
She owed him nothing.  
  
Turning, slipping away, she made use of all her skill in hiding and disappearing that she had gained in 16 years of hiding her sister form in the World of men, noting with cold satisfaction how he blundered around behind her. He didn't have a chance. She was a ghost and a glimmer in these woods and the moonlight was her friend, not his.  
  
No - she noted coldly, as she slipped through the door to her fathers house, Luke Cates owed her nothing and she owed him nothing in return. She was here for her daughter's sake, not his, and as soon as that matter was resolved to her satisfaction, the two of them would be gone from Wolf Lake, never to return. 


	8. Chapter 7

All reviews received with ecstatic cartwheels of joy - reviews for new chapters also cause for celebration!  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Beta 2 Alpha Base - Minnesota  
  
"So what you're saying is that you will pay a bounty of $20,000 for every confirmed capture?"  
  
"The agreed price was $10,000 for a juvenile, but, yes we are willing to go up to $20,000 for a full adult. And for a White Wolven - let's just say that our price would be - upwardly negotiable."  
  
"I see. And you would have no problem with - collateral causalities?"  
  
"Mr Cain, my men have the resources and manpower to ensure that the demise of Wolf Lake is unlikely to be questioned. If however, you doubt our ability?"  
  
"No, no, no - I believe you. A whole town - hhmm well, I've never seen it done before. Although there was that small place in Eastern Romania last century."  
  
A plume of smoke blew out of the darkness.  
  
"Quite. And now if our business is concluded?"  
  
"Yeah - sure. I'll update you when I have something to report."  
  
"Of course. However please be assured that if you fail we shall not even bother to deny our involvement."  
  
"Yeah - I get it. Top Secret Government stuff I bet. "  
  
"Indeed. Good day, Mr Cain."  
  
Cain watched as the other strolled away, surrounded by a cloud of smoke from his ever present Morley's.  
  
Official government agency? What a load of crap. He knew a black ops guy when he saw him. And as for plausible deniability? He didn't give a shit about that. All he cared was that he had just been given carte blanche to harvest the infamous secret mother lode of the Werewolf world. The one place his compatriots had been searching for since the freaks fled the Old Country in the 18th Century.  
  
This was going to make his retirement fund. He checked the pad with the numbers. 800 confirmed werewolves in the town, factoring in 300 for acceptable casualties, use them for pelts, god knows he had a waiting list over a thousand long for those alone. Then 200 for the military testing, leaving 300 available to private collectors and for fur breeding. Maybe that's what he would do - set up a facility and breed a few. And a white Wolf - how rare was that. His eyes gleamed with avarice. He could get infinite amounts of money for that pelt, or in breeding potential, or for the testing - he was going to have to think long and hard over who he handed that one over to.  
  
With the whistle of a man happy with his work and his career he settled down to start his requisition for the destruction and enslavement of the Wolven of Wolf Lake.  
  
From the shadows a lone plume of smoke arose as the cigarette smoking man watched his employee disdainfully.  
  
"Do you think he'll be effective?"  
  
He barely turned his head to the other voice from the shadows.  
  
"I doubt it. However he may bring the few necessary specimens in for testing."  
  
"Then why employ him in the first place?"  
  
"Consider it - an experiment." He blew another plume of smoke. " If the denizens of Wolf Lake cannot defend themselves against Mr Cain, then they would be no use for the more specialised involvement we may require them for."  
  
"I see. And if they can?"  
  
"Well then - they will have proved their viability. And then we will have to utilise our more able operatives in the next mission. Just think of this little experiment as an opening salvo."  
  
"Before what?"  
  
He lifted his head and blew a perfect smoke ring into the warehouse shadows.  
  
"Before the real bombardment starts." 


	9. Chapter 8

All reviews are welcome- extra welcome and gleefully-dance-around-the- fireplace-received!  
  
Chapter 8  
  
She running. Running and running, but as far as she fled she just knew that it was still behind her, catching up. And her sides were hurting and her breath was coming in deep rasping, wrenching pants, pulling out the last of her energy with them. And then she couldn't run anymore, and it was catching her and she turned and it flung a skinned body at her feet - with her mother's face.  
  
She woke up screaming.  
  
The light burst on and her mother barrelled through the door of her room as though the hounds of hell were after her. "Cat!" And then as she saw there was no immediate, physical, danger, more calmly. "Sweetheart -what's wrong?!"  
  
For a moment her daughter couldn't answer, even her breath stolen from her in the wake of her brutal vision. And then as soon as she could breath again, to her humiliation and embarrassment all that would come out of her mouth were gut wrenching sobs. Sophia said nothing, just gathered her traumatised daughter in her arms and rocked her, back and forth, calmly meeting the worried eyes of her father, who had arrived a few moments after those horrifying screams had ripped them all from sleep. Eventually the sobs quietened to tears and the tears faded to sniffles as Cat got control of herself, scrubbing angrily at her face with the handkerchief her mother gave her. She sat up and smiled sheepishly at the two adults, who were by now both sitting on the bed.  
  
"Sorry. I - I didn't mean to - "  
  
Her grandfather gently ruffled her hair.  
  
"It's okay kiddo. Can you tell us what it's all about?"  
  
Twisting the tissue between her fists until it was little more than rags, she recounted the entirety of her dream, finishing with the discovery of her mother's skinned and bloody corpse. They listened in silence until she finished and then Sophia pulled her abruptly into another brief hug and her Grandfather scrubbed his hands through his hair anxiously.  
  
"Are you sure that this wasn't just a normal nightmare?"  
  
Both Sophia and her daughter shook their heads simultaneously, causing him a momentary flicker of amusement at the identical looks of mulish stubbornness on both faces.  
  
"I've been having this dream since I was five granddad. And I KNOW that it's real. It's one of the true dreams. " She gave her mother a beseeching look, asking for back up.  
  
"It's true, Dad. Sometimes - not all the time," She ignored her daughters faintly poutish look at having the extent of her veracity questioned, "Cat Dreams true. Don't ask me why or how. Sherman tried to explain it to me years ago," she smiled wryly at her father. "According to him it's just hereditary in action."  
  
Matt Donner sighed in exasperation. Typical Sherman trickster answer. He looked over at his girls, both sitting watching him, identical looks of faint apprehension on their faces.  
  
"So - do we need to anything about this? CAN we do anything about this?"  
  
Cat turned to her mother, her forehead creased in concern. She really hoped she knew what to do next, 'cause she didn't think she could handle another Dream like that any time soon. Sophia curled an arm around her shoulders in reassurance.  
  
"This was the reason we came back, Dad. Or one of the reasons at any rate," she hastily corrected as she saw the look of faint hurt on her father's face.  
  
"These dreams have been coming more recently - and they are getting worse each time. Sherman thinks it's a sign, like an early warning system for the Pack."  
  
Cat shuddered in recollection, her mouth pursed unhappily. "But this was the worst yet, Mom. It really was."  
  
"I know, sweetheart. And Sherman thinks that the increasing violence of the Dreams means the event that might threaten the Pack is getting closer. And that we need to be here in Wolf Lake for it."  
  
Matt frowned at the pair of them in concern. "Sophia - sweetheart. You don't have to get involved in this. You didn't have to come back here. I know you never wanted to and you've made a home very successfully away from the Pack. A home for both of you. Why risk both of your lives for the very people that rejected you?"  
  
She lifted her chin, suddenly resembling his poor, dead Marie so strongly that it made his heart clench. "I may not choose to live here. This may not be my home. But you are my father, and even if there was no other reason to help this town, " she reached out for his hand "you would be enough, Dad."  
  
He smiled at her, eyes suddenly betrayingly moist.  
  
"But there are other reasons. My blood is half their blood, and my daughter deserves to know her Kin. She deserves everything. And that includes the chance to be part of the Pack, if she chooses to, when she flips. Because she will flip, and I want her to experience all the things that my inability barred me from. And this is the only place she can do that."  
  
She pulled a now silent Cat further into her embrace and smiled, a little bitterly. "And any way, how can anyone stand by and watch the slaughter of yet another indigenous species on this Earth if they can prevent it? And even if most of them annoy me - well there's Sherman. And Sarah. And other people from school. And the Watsons. I could never wish anyone of them hurt, or dead."  
  
She shifted on the edge of the bed.  
  
"They may not acknowledge me, but they are my people. And aren't kin ties the most binding in all the world?"  
  
Matt smiled at her, love and pride tumbling in his heart as he made his decision.  
  
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow we get hold of Sherman, and we take this to the top."  
  
"Cates?"  
  
"No - not Luke, not yet at any rate. We take this to the voice of reason in this town - Vivian." 


	10. Chapter 9

I love reviews - but can you just send them once? Getting 20+ identical reviews from the same person is kind of freaky.  
  
Oh - and for the people who are desperate to get to the Sophia/Luke confrontation, it's coming okay? I'm trying to build up dramatic tension here. To quote the Guinness adverts - good things (hopefully) come to those who wait.  
  
There will be a short delay over the weekend as I don't have access at home. See you in a few days. Thanks again - Sigma  
  
Chapter 9  
  
As she had expected they arrived exactly on time. One of the things she had always admired about Matt Donner was his exactitude, so in contrast with her own impetuous nature. And it was in part due to that admiration that she was allowing this meeting to go ahead in the first place. She stopped in place and smoothed her skirt, a brief flash of unwarranted nerves causing her to frown in irritation. Unfinished business always grated. Putting on her most polished smile, she went to greet her guests.  
  
Twenty minutes later she was feeling twice as ruffled and four times as stressed.  
  
"I still can't believe this."  
  
"What is it you can't believe, Viv? Seems pretty straightforward to me."  
  
She turned on the Pack Keeper in irritation.  
  
"This! This whole thing! She, " she gestured abruptly to a poised Sophia, who took a sip of her coffee in obvious impatience, "comes back, after 16 years away, and tell me that firstly she has a daughter who is a, a SEER, of all things."  
  
She put her hands on her hips and glared down at the offending teenager, who gulped and felt the urge to hide behind her Mom until this was all over. This Vivian lady was scary! She breathed out in relief as the focus of that fury turned back to Sherman.  
  
"And you. Sherman. Keeper of the Chronicles. Keeper of the Pack. And for all the time I was Pack leader, you neglected to mention this little fact!?"  
  
"Mention what, Viv?"  
  
"Oh well I don't know. Perhaps the fact that we had a possible seer in our midst. Something we've not had the advantage of , for hhmmm - 250 years? Oh yeah - and that the aforementioned Seer has been seeing portents of our destruction for the LAST TEN YEARS!!"  
  
She glared at him. He merely shrugged, not intimidated.  
  
" I knew it wasn't coming for another few years. And what's the point in worrying about something until you can do something to stop it?"  
  
Vivian just kept glaring at him, eyes narrowed in disgust. Dammed irritating, secretive, blockhead trickster. Sometimes she thought his mother must have been a Coyote.  
  
There was the sound of a throat clearing, and Vivian switched her focus to Matt Donner, who had been mostly sitting in silence for the last twenty minutes.  
  
"Sherman does have a point. I mean - Viv, what would you have done if you had known about it when you were Alpha? What could you have done? Dragged Sophia and Cat back here and put them under house arrest?"  
  
She just stared at him for a moment, before her legs abruptly went weak on her and she collapsed onto the sofa.  
  
"And anyway, I think my daughter might have had something to say about that."  
  
Sophia looked up from her coffee and spoke directly to Vivian for the first time since this farce had begun, her face carefully blank.  
  
"I can guarantee that would have been the case. The only reason we are back now, is because Sherman believes it may be near the foretold time."  
  
"They need to be here Viv. They're a major part of this. In fact I would say they are pivotal to our success or - well, destruction I suppose." The old Keeper fixed his ex-leader with Coyote's inscrutable eye.  
  
Suddenly Vivian just wanted to be anywhere else, away from all this, lying on a beach somewhere, drinking a Martini. God what she would give for Willard to be here, so she could just hand this entire mess over to him. With a sigh she leaned back into the cushions.  
  
"Well, I suppose if we have to deal, we have to. Although you," she pointed a finger at Sherman, "have a lot of explaining to."  
  
He smiled at her blandly.  
  
"And I suppose Sophia and Catriona had better move in here for safe keeping. We don't want to take any chances."  
  
"No."  
  
The bald statement broke the silence. Three heads turned to the couch where Sophia had very carefully put down her coffee cup before rising. Vivian frowned.  
  
"What do you mean 'No'? I outrank you child, and you'll do as I say."  
  
The younger woman breathed in deeply at the unthinking arrogance in the other's tone. Sherman and Matt looked from one to the other like spectators at a tennis match. This ought to be good.  
  
"I said No, Vivian. And I meant exactly what I said. My daughter and I will be staying where we are, in my Father's house. We will be also leaving the town when we require and coming back when we wish. There will be no 'protection' detail. No removal of spark plugs from my car, no accidental problems with our phone lines. I know all the tricks and I will be - upset, if anything should happen to either of us or my father, from anyone within the Pack".  
  
Vivian looked as if she had been hit over the head with a brick.  
  
"How dare you?! Do you realise who I am?"  
  
Sophia looked down on the older woman, noticing the streaks of silver in the golden hair, the fine lines around eyes and mouth that hadn't been there the last time they had seen each other.  
  
"Of course I know who you are. You are the Alpha female of the Wolf Lake Pack. And if I was a denizen of the Wolf Lake Pack I would owe you my obedience. But I'm not. And I have not been for 16 years, not since you and your son essentially forced me to leave. So I owe you no duty - of obedience or submission. You are not my Alpha, Vivian. You made sure of that. Now you can live with the consequences."  
  
She turned and made for the door, nails digging into her clenched fists.  
  
"Oh - and Vivian?" She partly turned back to the gob smacked woman, and tilted her head to regard her with unreadable green eyes. "You might want to ask if YOU know who I am, before you issue another order to me again."  
  
She beckoned to her daughter. "Come on Cat. We're leaving. Mrs Cates has a few things to think about."  
  
She turned away, but as she did so she flashed a quick volley at the still stunned woman, further deepening her confusion. * You don't know who I am Vivian - and be very careful you never have cause to find out.*  
  
And with one last gleam of bright green eyes she was gone.  
  
Silence reigned for a minute and then Sherman looked around at his still stunned compatriots and smirked.  
  
"Well. That's put the cat among the pigeons hasn't it?" 


	11. Chapter 10

Getting there to the big confrontation...slowly but surely  
  
Chapter 10  
  
It had started off a bad day for Luke, and it wasn't getting any better. First he had to deal with some production issues at the Mill, then argue with an idiotic Japanese exporter who was insisting on a special logging mechanism for the redwood for his Shrine, and then he had a call from Josephine Wood at the school, reporting that she had to break up a fight between two of the younger Pack at recess. What with ripping each of the idiots a new one, and then ripping into his own nephew for not controlling his section of the Pack better - well it hadn't been a stress free morning. And he just knew Ruby would have a go when she was next in town. And okay maybe he had been a little hard on the kid - but something about James Cates' sullen expression, the flash of resentment in those slanting golden eyes had just pressed all his buttons.  
  
So by the time he got back to the House at lunch, he wasn't in the best of moods. And then he opened his own front door and a cloud of Sophia Donner's scent hit him like a brick to the back of the head.  
  
"Luke."  
  
Matt looked up at Vivian's tone. She was standing uncertainly, half risen from the seat where she had been collapsed since his daughter had made such a memorable exit. He followed her gaze and saw their Alpha, nostrils flared and scenting, blue eyes narrowed and suspicious as he tracked the various scents of those who had invaded his home.  
  
"Mother. What's going on?"  
  
Vivian inwardly winced at his tone. She recognised that tightly clipped note of irritation from his father. It hadn't been a good idea to cross Willard in this mood either. She sighed. Well - it couldn't be helped. And she hadn't missed the momentary way his eyes had searched eagerly for a missing person whose scent still lay on the air. Hopefully that eagerness would at least make him more likely to listen to reason.  
  
She thought wrong.  
  
Luke paced back and forth across the floor like a coiled spring, a haze of golden fury almost blurring his vision. Inside him the wolf snarled in frustration, outraged at this out right defiance from members of HIS Pack. How dare they keep this from him, attempt to subvert his authority, go behind his back like this. How dare she keep a Seer from the Pack!  
  
Matt glanced from the furious and pacing figure of their Alpha to the other two occupants of the room. Vivian was actively cowed, almost a first in Matt's experience, sitting very straight and still on the edge of the couch. He admitted to feeling rather intimidated himself. Only Sherman seemed unaffected, slouched in his chair, black eyes half lidded. And the sheer weight of their Alpha's displeasure hung over the room like a mist, pressing down on every instinct to abase himself his Wolven side had. He hunched his shoulders a little more and tried to think mellow thoughts.  
  
Luke stopped pacing abruptly. For once the Wolf and him were in complete agreement. Decisive action was required. He regarded the three conspirators narrowly and paced over to Sherman, looming over the smaller man in his chair.  
  
"Who runs this Pack, Sherman?"  
  
The tone of voice was deceptively soft. Sherman met his blazing eyes calmly.  
  
" You do, Alpha."  
  
"That's right. I do."  
  
Suddenly, with a move as fast as it was shocking he reached down and physically lifted the lighter man out of the seat, holding him up in front of him so he dangled, faces close together.  
  
"You are Keeper, Sherman. And I respect that. But you are not inviolable - nor are you invulnerable. I run this Pack now, and I need to know EVERYTHING that goes on. Not just what you choose to tell me. If I find out you have been keeping anything else from me, we will be having much more than words. No one is irreplaceable, Sherman - not even you. Now. Do-We-Understand-Each-Other?  
  
"Yes Alpha."  
  
"Good Sherman. Very good."  
  
He casually opened his hand and threw the smaller man back into his chair and turned to Matt Donner.  
  
"And you - what kind of daughter have you brought up?"  
  
The Sheriff looked stung by the accusation.  
  
"Does she not know her duty? Does she not know her blood? Doesn't she know where she BELONGS?"  
  
And with that he turned his back on the lot of them and strode to the door. "Luke - "  
  
The timid tone momentarily stopped him.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
He glared at his mother, his jaw clenching with suppressed fury.  
  
"I'm going to remind one of the members of my Pack the duties she owes to her Alpha."  
  
Vivian looked as she would say something in response and he stopped her with a out flung hand.  
  
"Don't say anything, Mother. You and I aren't exactly on the best of terms just now. And be assured I will have - words - with you about this little scenario later. But just now I have a little discipline problem to sort out."  
  
Vivian winced, both at his words and the tone he uttered them in as he slammed the door behind him. Into the ensuring hush they all heard the squeal as the truck was driven away at high speed and Vivian's whisper.  
  
"But she's not one of your Pack, son. She never was." 


	12. Chapter 11

Okay this one is rated PG-13, because there is a little bit of swearing in it. What did you expect when these two meet again? I apologise for those looking for happy endings - we'll get there eventually.  
  
By the way - any input into what you thought of this scene would be warmly welcomed!! Please review!!  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Cat glanced at her Mother in concern. Ever since they had left the Cates house she had been striding along like all was right with the world, but her body language and the set, polite, smile on her face begged to differ. Something was really up. And how.  
  
Now she hadn't understood all of what her Mom had said back at the house, but she did get that Mom had a history with both that Vivian woman and her son, who by the sound of it was now Alpha. And probably an asshole, especially since the two of them had been the main reason her Mom had left Wolf Lake in the first place. Which seemed like a pretty cool little town so far.  
  
She looked around, enjoying the warm sun on her face. It was early in summer and the shopping area was bustling. She clocked each figure that passed with interest, playing her own personal game of Wolven recognition. Yes, that one - no, not that one. But what was interesting was how the Wolven reacted when they saw her Mom. Half actively stopped in the street, expressions ranging from shock to curiousity written large across their faces. The others either bobbed their heads in acknowledgement or murmured a greeting, looking strangely smug, or satisfied. On a few of the female faces, though, the look was outright green eyed envy. Cat looked at her Mom and frowned. I mean, her Mom was gorgeous and that, even in her Wolven form, but none of these people even knew she could flip now, so it couldn't be that. So why jealousy? She was still pondering this mystery when the gravelling roar of a truck engine and the screech of tyres announced the arrival of a whole 'nother set of problems.  
  
For Sophia this morning was turning into one hell of an eventful one. One minute she was walking down Main Street with her daughter and the next the squeal of tyres and the hard grip on her upper arm changed the parameters completely .  
  
Luke looked down at the woman whose arm he was gripping. Some part of him was aware that he was pressing hard enough to hurt, that there would be cerulean bruises rising on creamy skin tomorrow, but another part of him was too caught up in the reality of a rich scent and rapidly narrowing brown eyes to care. Sophia Donner. Here. At last. Under his hands, in his nostrils, the light breeze lifting bits of her long hair to caress him. He shifted, his body suddenly tight, caught between his original fury and a rising tide of lust. The little part of him that was still objective tracked her face, still as memory and a yearbook photo had shown him, only the sharpness of cheekbones and the elegantly groomed brows showing the transition from adolescent softness to adult restraint. Her lips were still soft and plump, the face still that perfect oval, the skin still smooth and creamy, rapidly flagging with a blush as her scent changed, confusion shifting to irritation. He realised he had been standing there staring at her like a fool, in the middle of his town, for far longer than he had intended.  
  
With a shake of his head he straightened up and took a firmer grasp of her arm, noticing from the corner of his eye the worried look on the face of the teenager who was hovering protectively.  
  
"Sophia". His voice was low, more growl than word.  
  
She pulled her head back to look him in the eye.  
  
"Mr Cates." Her tone was ice and disdain mixed and it fired all of the fury that had been dying down since he touched her. "Let go of my arm."  
  
From the minute he had arrived and grabbed her, her emotions had been in a tailspin. And so she did what time and experience had taught her best - she threw up her barriers. Barriers as tall and wide as the Walls of Jericho, and just as impervious to non divine intervention. And so her voice when she answered him was cool and composed, and as neutral as it would be to a disagreeable stranger. Which was, she might have agreed later, somewhat of a tactical error.  
  
With a snarl he shifted his grip to her wrist and started to pull her to his truck. Furious, she dug in her heels and resisted, using all her considerable strength to maintain her position. "Let go of me Lucas - or you really will regret it!"  
  
Like a switch had been thrown he was in her face, only inches separating them, the hot puffs of his breath an intrusion on her skin.  
  
"We can do this in private, Sophia, or right out here in the street. Your choice. But we are doing it."  
  
Their eyes clashed, the classic irresistible force and immoveable object. After a second of furious internal debate Sophia carefully removed his hand from her wrist and turned to her daughter who was hovering anxiously, clearly torn between barrelling in to assist her mother and wanting to stay out of reach of what was obviously a huge, very pissed off guy.  
  
"Cat, why don't you home now? Mr Cates and I have some - things - to discuss."  
  
Cat looked from one to the other anxiously. So this was Lucas Cates. Hhhmm - no wonder her mother thought he was a dick. A cute dick, sure - but a dick never the less.  
  
"Are you sure Mom?"  
  
Sophia smiled as she picked up the lightly veiled uncertainty. "I'm sure sweetheart. I'll be fine. Lucas won't hurt me - will you Lucas?" Unspoken, the intonation of the word *again* hung in the air like fog. Cat twitched as she saw the big guy suck in a short breath and almost flinch at her mother's cool, dismissive tone. Yeah - this guy might be big, but he was no match for her Mom. She could take him easily.  
  
Reassured she gave her a tiny, albeit nervous, grin.  
  
"Okay. I'll see you at supper?"  
  
"Of course. I'll be home soon."  
  
Despite the older woman's reassurance Cat still looked distinctly nervous as the two of them pulled away in Luke's truck, leaving her standing forlornly on the sidewalk.  
  
Inside the truck you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Sophia stared out the window at the so familiar scenery, her fury rising with every passing moment. How dare he just grab her and manhandle her in front of her daughter? Shades of days past indeed. Although the last time he had tried that she had thrown him half way across a car hood. Just let him try again this time - she'd show him what she'd learned Outside.  
  
For Luke's part he found himself stealing little glances at her profile, his heart sinking as he noticed how her mouth was set in a tight line . It had always been difficult to make Sophia mad, but by God you really didn't want to be in the firing line if you did. His own mouth tightened in response. Okay. If that's how she wanted it. He had a few issues he needed settled as well.  
  
They pulled up next to a small cabin in an isolated clearing. Sophia recognised the place, it being one of the traditional meeting places of the Alpha and Lieutenants. With a slam of his door Luke left the truck and stalked into the cabin, leaving the door swinging behind him in obvious invitation. She followed warily, trying to rid her traitorous mind of how good his butt had looked in those well worn jeans.  
  
Inside the air was still and warm, almost stuffy, but Sophia hardly noticed. All her attention was focused on the rigid figure facing her.  
  
"Sophia."  
  
"Lucas." He winced at her formality. She always knew how he hated that name. Well - if that's how she wanted it.  
  
"My Mother and Sherman tried to feed me some bullshit story about there being a danger to the Pack." He ran a hand through dirty blond hair, watching her closely.  
  
"It's not bullshit." She was hostile and off balance, confronted with the physical reality of him after all these years, matured and strengthened and faintly over powering. "Nothing less than a threat to the Pack could have driven me back here." *To you*. The unspoken thought hung in the air, souring the atmosphere.  
  
So then. She was still mad. Or more likely she still hated him. Even though he had never talked to her in private again after he had cut her dead for her own safety, even with that he had always harboured the vain hope that she had forgiven him for what he had had to do. But looking into those icy chocolate eyes he knew that was unlikely. So. If she wanted to play hardball, he could oblige. He shifted, putting Luke to one side, taking on the mantle of the Alpha again, snuggling his wounded ego into the protective blanket of authority.  
  
"So - all these years you knew there was a threat to the Pack and you chose to keep it from us? How very - considerate- of you."  
  
"I told Sherman. Sherman knew from the beginning." Sophia was aware that she had somehow shifted from righteous fury to vague stirrings of guilt, and she didn't like the feeling.  
  
" But Sherman didn't tell me."  
  
Angry, she lashed out in retaliation.  
  
"Well, you should keep a better control of your Keeper. And of your Pack."  
  
The minute she had said it she knew it was a mistake. He stiffened and then smiled very slightly, his eyes catching and gleaming in the dimness.  
  
"That's right - I should, shouldn't I? So Sophia - will you tell me just how I can keep better control of you?"  
  
She backed up, reaching out for the table behind her for support as he moved towards her. Suddenly she was very aware of him as Alpha, projecting dominance and tightly leased power, strength washing over her in waves.  
  
"I'm not part of your Pack."  
  
He circled her and she turned to face him.  
  
"I beg to differ. You might not be able to make the full transition," he hesitated momentarily as something unreadable flickered over her face "but we share the same blood."  
  
"You cast me out."  
  
"I never did anything of the kind. You exiled yourself - remember? And now as Alpha I have a right to demand you rescind that exile."  
  
Her head had been slightly lowered but now it shot up, nostrils flaring, eyes suddenly wild.  
  
"Demand?" She stalked forward and he found himself backing up in his turn. "You dare to say you demand something from me? After all that you took before?"  
  
They both paused, faces close, emotions raging. She was so close, he could have just reached out and touched her, run his hand over the silk of her hair, tasted the sweetness of her lips. Her scent was wine and honey, intoxicating, with a hint of musk, and he hesitated, momentarily off guard. She caught his sudden shift in mood and shivered, eyes wide. He reached out to touch her face, the warmth of the skin heady against his fingertips, and moved closer.  
  
"Sophia."  
  
She could feel the warmth of his flesh, the hint of vanilla and spice that was his scent burning in her nostrils. He was giving off heat like a forest fire, and she found herself caught in the burning regard of his eyes.  
  
"Come home. I'll - We've missed you so. We need you here. There is so much you could do for us. You belong with us. You and your daughter. We need a Seer. She belongs here, with us. You are Pack."  
  
She had been lost in a dream of welcome, of spices and vanilla, comfort and sensuality, but those last few words jerked her back to reality like a bucket of ice water. She hastily moved away from him, craving the lost contact with every atom of her being.  
  
"No."  
  
Luke looked up, dazed and reaching for her, confusion spreading across his face.  
  
"I won't do this. I won't have her chained here."  
  
He frowned, annoyed. "What do you mean - you won't have her here? She belongs here, Sophia. She belongs to the Pack."  
  
Unfortunately in his irritation he used almost exactly the same tone of voice his mother had earlier and it had a somewhat similar effect. Her head shot up and her whole body stiffened.  
  
"She doesn't belong to anyone. And neither do I. You lost that chance, - Lucas - 16 years ago, when you fucked me and then left me. Remember?"  
  
He winced at the harshness of her tone, and reached out to her. "Sophia -"  
  
"No. I won't do this again. I won't!"  
  
"But this time - I promise-"  
  
"Don't give me your promises, Lucas Cates. You promised before. To love, and to never leave me. And then," she smiled grimly, "you left me to the Wolves. And I don't mean metaphorically."  
  
"Sophia, just let me explain."  
  
"I won't hear it. I don't belong to you. We don't belong to you - not this time."  
  
His fists clenched as he struggled to keep a hold of his temper. God - if she would just listen!  
  
"Your daughter at least belongs here. She has a duty to this Pack."  
  
She stared at him, incredulous, and laughed suddenly, the sound high and wild, and more than a little hysterical.  
  
"Duty. You have the fucking nerve to talk to me about duty?" She moved toward the door and he blocked her.  
  
"Get out of my way, Cates."  
  
"Not until you acknowledge your responsibilities to this Pack."  
  
She measured him for a moment and then smiled thinly.  
  
"Hear me now, Alpha. I am not part of this Pack. Live with it. I do not acknowledge your authority. Not over me, and especially not over my daughter. We don't belong to you, Lucas Cates. And we never will. Now get out of my way."  
  
There was a battle of wills as the two of them glared at each, each poised to react. Then Luke broke it by reaching for her. Quicker than he could have believed possible she twisted out of his grasp and the next thing he knew he was lying on the floor, his lower body a red edged blaze of pain centred on his testicles.  
  
Dimly he was aware of the click-clack of her heels as she stepped over his recumbent form and exited, leaving only the trace of her scent and an eloquent silence behind.  
  
By the time he could stand again he had had plenty of time to consider what else, apart from self defence, Sophia had undoubtedly learned Outside. Perhaps it was time for a different set of tactics, 'cos the old ones certainly didn't seem to be working. 


	13. Chapter 12

Apologises for the delay! Sorry, dory, lorry -  
  
All review loved and received.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Cat paused and took a minute to really look around, shading her eyes from the bright sunlight. Wow - it was amazing up here. The air was crisp and clear and the forest stretched forever below her, undulating like a Genie ridden carpet. And if she turned the other way she could see the whole of Wolf Lake laid out below her, all the little tributaries of street flowing into the main creek of the shopping area. Yeah, it was a pretty neat little town. She turned back to the forest. But there - that forest - it just beckoned her, she was itchy to finally flip so she could explore it properly.  
  
"Cat!"  
  
She turned at the call to see her Mom further up the trail, smiling and beckoning her on.  
  
When Sophia had suggested this hike early in the morning her daughter had been uncharacteristically enthusiastic. Admittedly she was an active kid who had been cooped up for two days, and yes hiking with her Mom was something she had plenty of Wolf tracking experience in - but she had been practically hopping. It was only when they had finally cleared the edges of the town and started into the mountains that Sophia noticed a subtle tension slip out of her frame.  
  
"Sweetheart - has something being bothering you?" *Beside the obvious that is * she added silently. Cat shrugged and rotated her shoulders, shifting her pack until it sat more comfortably.  
  
"It's nothing really - Mom. It's just that - "  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This place." She gestured vaguely to the town below. "It's a lot of pressure you know? And everyone is watching and they all THINK so hard that it makes shielding sort of tiring, and I don't like to sleep - 'cause of the Dreams."  
  
"Ahh. Do you think some more time with Sherman might help?"  
  
Her daughter screwed up her face in thought. "It might. But this, just getting out for a while, this helps more than anything." She favoured her Mom with a grateful smile. "Thanks."  
  
"Not a problem kid. And as I said we have a mission to complete. Onwards and upwards."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," she good naturedly grumbled. "Who lives in a place like this anyway?"  
  
"Someone who doesn't want any visitors. Come on - we should be there in about an hour."  
  
  
  
It was actually about 30 minutes when they finally reached the clearing, making a detour around the residual road and the ancient parked pick up. The cabin nestled into the lee of the mountain like it had grown out of the forest, weathered grey green boards and thick beech slates on the roof. But apart from the debris of various projects scattered around the clearing, and the evidence of a freshly pinned deer skin there was no sign of life.  
  
"Don't tell me they're not in? Not after that hike. And I didn't realise they had a road," she turned to mock glare at her mother, "we could have drove!"  
  
Sophia smiled at her. "We could of, but we needed the exercise. Come on."  
  
They moved further into the clearing. The air was still and quiet and Cat had a distinct feeling that something - or someone was watching them. But whoever it was, her Mom didn't seem bothered.  
  
"Hallo the house! Anyone at home?"  
  
To Cat's surprise an answering voice echoed from behind the cabin.  
  
"Just a minute!"  
  
The owner of the voice appeared around the cabin a few minutes later, wiping her hands on a rag, the grease stains on her jeans a mute testament to what she had being doing when interrupted. She frowned at the two of them for a moment, and then her gaze fixed on her Mom, and a smile grew and blossomed until it was nothing less than a full fledged grin. Cat glanced up at her Mom and was reassured to see a similar look on her face.  
  
"Sophia."  
  
"Ruby."  
  
The other woman shook her head in amusement, her eyes dancing.  
  
"God, it's good to see you again. Come here."  
  
The two women hugged, a wealth of warmth and relaxation in the gesture, while Cat regarded the other with renewed interest. So this was the mysterious Ruby, the one person, apart from her Grandpa that her mother had always kept in touch with. The two of them were outright chuckling now, holding each other at arms length, drinking in the changes.  
  
"You know, e-mail is a beautiful thing."  
  
"That it is. Cat, come here. I've someone I'd like you to meet."  
  
Cat sidled up to her mother's side and eyed the older woman curiously.  
  
"Catrina Donner, meet Ruby Cates. Ruby - my daughter, Catrina."  
  
"Pleased to meet you." Cat stuck out her hand, and Ruby took it with an oddly amused and assessing look on her face.  
  
"Likewise. Actually I've got someone I'd like you both to meet as well. He should be somewhere around. James!"  
  
A moment later a lanky form slipped around the side of the cabin, hesitating momentarily as he saw the strangers, before reluctantly approaching the little group.  
  
"Sophia, Catrina - this is my son, James."  
  
Cat stared up at the newcomer, openly curious while he examined them both in his turn. He was tall and lanky, with the promise of breadth and strength to come. At the moment he was all whipcord muscle and potential, floppy black hair falling over remarkable, slanted, golden eyes. Wolf eyes. He brushed his hair back impatiently from sculptured cheekbones and frowned. Cat felt her mouth go dry. He was a babe. A total and utter studmuffin.  
  
Sophia glanced from James to her daughter. She was standing hipshot, outwardly causal but her mother could see the subtle signs of interest. She looked back at James taking in the curved mouth, the sculptured arrogance of his cheekbones. Oh dear. What was it about these Cates men anyway? Did they give them entrance to the bad boy club at birth?  
  
The two adults had retreated to the far side of the clearing to talk, throwing out the easy parental aside of 'you-two-should-get-to-know-each- other'. Huh. Easier said than done. Cat chewed her lip anxiously. She was crap at all this forced social stuff. Thankfully he seemed almost as bad. They carefully didn't look at each other for a few minutes and then James stuffed his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders in resignation.  
  
"Hey - you want a soda?"  
  
She grasped eagerly at this lifeboat of conversation. "Sure. What've you got?"  
  
He moved towards the cabin and she followed him. "Coke I think, and Mountain Dew."  
  
Bleurgghh. "I hate Mountain Dew," she muttered.  
  
He gave her a faintly surprised look. "So do I." He gave her another assessing look.  
  
"What do people call you?"  
  
"Cat. And you?"  
  
He made a face. "Jamie." At her answering smirk he grinned, his body relaxing slightly. "At least it's better than Jim."  
  
"True."  
  
She hovered uncertainly as he made his way to the fridge, checking out the rest of the cabin. She could just see someone's double bed through an opened door, the sheets all piled up in a kind of round nest. Someone sure was a messy sleeper.  
  
"Here".  
  
The coke was icy from the refrigerator and she drank it gratefully, conscious all the time of those assessing eyes. Finally sick of being stared at like a bug she glared at him in return. He seemed faintly surprised that she had the guts to do so.  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's just that I've never met one of us who has lived Outside before. I mean we get visits from the other Packs, but you - you lived in New York - "  
  
She grinned suddenly, flashing bright and he blinked, faintly dazzled. Oh he was getting an idea already that this new addition to the Pack wasn't going to be even faintly predictable. Somehow, he looked forward to the challenge.  
  
"Yeah. New York City, England, Colorado, Boston."  
  
"What was that like? I've always wanted to go."  
  
She hitched herself up onto the kitchen counter. "Well - New York chilli dogs are the best in the whole world - "  
  
Chatting and gesticulating, with the occasional interruption from an increasingly relaxed Jamie, the first threads of a tentative friendship were spun.  
  
  
  
At the other end of the clearing the initial reminiscing had finished and the field was clear for serious business. Thankfully Ruby was already up to speed on the Dreams, and tended to agree with Sherman as to their meaning. She winced when Sophia regaled the tale of her unfortunate meeting with Luke.  
  
"That's going to go down well."  
  
Sophia acknowledged her mistake with a rueful shake of the head.  
  
"He just made me so mad - you know? Who does he think he is that he can just pick up as if we never stopped?"  
  
Ruby eyed her friends narrowed eyes and heightened colour in amusement. "Well - it really looks as if you are mortally offended by the whole thing."  
  
Sophia humpphed in reply and changed the subject.  
  
"Vivian will be calling for a Meet. He hasn't prevented that at least."  
  
"Well, my brother generally isn't a complete idiot."  
  
"Hhhmm. I'll withhold judgement on that. Will you come?"  
  
Ruby sighed and looked away. "If you need me too."  
  
Sophia took her hands in hers. "I do. I think I'll need the moral support."  
  
Ruby shot her a shrewd look.  
  
"And do you intend to reveal more than just the threat?"  
  
She smiled back ruefully. "I think so. I think it's time that a few things came out in the open."  
  
"Not all?"  
  
Sophia looked across the clearing where the two teenagers were talking to each other, the body language at once tentative and deeply interested.  
  
"Not yet. But eventually." She grasped her friend's hands harder, looking her in the eyes, noticing the shadows that fifteen years of keeping her own secret had put there.  
  
"Eventually all of our secrets will be revealed."  
  
Ruby closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Finally there was someone else to share the burden. She opened her eyes and smiled back at her friend, infinitely comforted that her sister, in spirit, if not in blood, was finally back where she belonged. 


	14. Chapter 13

Gosh, this took me a long time. What do you think? Does it meet with expectations? All opinions gratefully received. And at least one secret is now out. And in answer to a question - hopefully I should be able to update over Xmas. And if not - Merry Christmas everyone!  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Sophia ran a final brushstroke through her hair and put the brush down steadily, distantly pleased that her hand wasn't shaking. So many things would change tonight, for her, her daughter, for the whole Pack, and she wasn't sure what she really thought about it. Yes, it meant that she would truly come home, but after a life time of living away from Wolf Lake she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle the incessant closeness of small town life. When she had been freed before she had run as fast and far as she could, spurred on by pain and rejection. But she had finally stopped and looked around she had realised she liked being Outside. She had loved the freedom, the anonymity, the fact that her action only affected her and her child. She had been a fledging eagle and they unintentionally gave her space to fly. And now she was bringing herself back to the eyrie.  
  
"Sophia."  
  
She looked to see her father standing in the door to her old bedroom. Tonight would be a night of change for him as well, although he didn't know it yet.  
  
"It's time, sweetheart. Are you ready?"  
  
She looked up and met his eyes.  
  
"I'm ready Dad."  
  
*Here I come, Wolf Lake - ready or not - *  
  
  
  
Cat mentally cursed as her foot cracked down on yet another pesky twig. At her twitch her mother momentarily squeezed her hand before continuing on, slipping through the woods like a shadow. Why, oh why couldn't she have some of her Wolven characteristics right now?! I mean, was it too much just to get that oh-so useful enhanced eyesight a little early? Instead she had to get dragged through the woods by her Mom and Grandpa, like a piece of baggage. And did they have to go so fast? She continued to grumble to herself as she followed Matt and Sophia through the woods, terribly conscious of the mental whispers of hundreds of Wolven and the occasional noise as they, their mates and cubs, pre, and post-flip slowly made their way through the forest to the meeting place. When she was a little girl her Mom had told her stories of this place, made it sound like Pack Rock out of the Jungle Book and she had so desperately wanted to go there. But now she was, all she wanted to do was turn tail and run back to the safety of the Wolf Sanctuary in Colorado, where wolf howls held no human meaning and nobody stared at her like a bug under the microscope. She was scared. And so she grumped.  
  
Abruptly the tree cover ceased and they were standing on the edge of a rough clearing, punctuated only at one side by a pile of flat topped rocks, the highest stretching out to dominate the space. The gray stone contrasted clearly with the rich colour of the silk draping it. Royal scarlet. No purple for the Wolven, instead they honoured the richness of scarlet, the colour of life and death, of birth and mating - the colour of blood.  
  
Currently it was empty but all around the clearing the gathered Wolven made up for the lack of their leader.  
  
Cat stopped on the edge of the trees and just gawked. There were hundreds of wolves of every colour, from grey-silver to black, fading through fawn, gold, chestnut, russet, brown, even slightly patchwork, skewbald like a husky, all bathed in the light of the full moon that hung, seemingly immobile, over the clearing. And then there were the people, fat, thin, in between, young, old, children through to elders whose hair (and pelts) glistened grizzled silver. Pregnant women gathered litters of children to them, fathers scolded errant sons, teenagers gathered in gossiping groups, half in Wolven form, many being eyed enviously by their friends who had yet to flip. All in all it was an amazing cornucopia of wild humanity, normal divisions such as skin colour and sex as nothing in the face of the overwhelming bond that made them as one, that made them Pack.  
  
She glanced up at her mother. Sophia's face was set, her eyes slightly narrowed, obviously reluctant to face the assembled company. Her father murmured something in her ear, and she nodded tightly, her movements clipped. Then she raised her chin with a characteristically stubborn gesture and stepped out from the safety of the trees, her two followers like guards at her back.  
  
At first no one seemed to notice them and then ripples of stillness spread, like a stone dropped into water, radiating outwards as the assembly noticed the strangers in their midst. For a moment all was still, the quiet only shattered by the high wail of a baby and then a woman's voice broke the silence.  
  
"Sophia! Sophia Donner! You've come home!"  
  
Sophia staggered back a bit as she was met by an armful of laughing woman.  
  
"Sarah! Sarah Walton!"  
  
"It's Thompson now, but - yup!"  
  
Conversations started up again as the Pack recognised the lack of threat, although the return of the elusive, runaway half breed certainly added a certain fillip to the proceedings. But whatever she was, she was no threat to them and so the Pack could get on with the important business of gossiping, arguing, grooming and living, albeit with the occasional glance at the small but growing knot of people surrounding the returning prodigal.  
  
In the middle of the knot Sophia found herself slightly overwhelmed as old friends she had known, and half she hadn't, turned up to say hello. In deference to her non flip state they had changed into human form but a number wore the long robes the Wolven used when quick change was likely. She had expected to be shunned but instead she was surrounded by friendly faces, all wanting to know how she had been , where she had been, how was Outside - her eyes felt suspiciously moist as she took in the strength and genuine nature of the welcome that surrounded her. Maybe she had been missed after all.  
  
Behind her, her daughter and her father leaned against each other, Cat huddled slightly in the shelter of her grandfather's arm. It was faintly scary really, all these people, and she didn't know any of them. She had caught a glimpse of Jamie, surrounded by a huge posse of teenagers, but she was far too intimidated to push her way through that crowd. And anyway her Mom and Sherman had asked her to stay close, with her having such a central role in the drama to come.  
  
There was movement near the Pack rock as a number of huge wolves padded out from the shadows to surround it, sitting on their haunches and surveying the crowd suspiciously. Then silence slowly fell as the tall figure of Luke Cates strode out from the edges of the forest, with Sherman and his mother at his back. He nodded to one of his bodyguards and the russet wolf threw back his head and howled, the sound hanging eerily on the moonlight air. From the mountains around them came a chorus of answering howls as the sentries checked in, assuring the Wolven of Wolf Lake that once again their Gathering would go unnoticed by the human world.  
  
Silence fell as the Alpha swept his gaze over the assembled Pack.  
  
"My friends. My kin, blood of my blood. We are gathered here at the request of our Keeper, Sherman, who believes that there is a clear and present danger to our Pack."  
  
Murmurs rose around the clearing as parents looked at each other anxiously and checked for the whereabouts of their children, and the young ones huddled together.  
  
"As Sherman is the best informed of us on this, I pass the telling of it over to him. However I will have it known that I have heard his words, and I believe his story, and that of his messenger."  
  
His eyes locked with Sophia's across the clearing, until she clenched her jaw and looked sideways and away. If that was what he thought made an apology he had a lot to learn.  
  
"Sherman."  
  
He moved to one side as the Keeper came forward, still as changeless as ever, his coyote eyes gleaming in the moonlight.  
  
"Wolven of Wolf Lake. I speak as the Keeper. I speak of time past and time still to come. Listen well, because it may mean our survival is at stake."  
  
The silence became absolute as each Wolven strained to hear the Keeper's quiet voice.  
  
***************  
  
When he had finished there was a moments silence and then Luke strode forward again.  
  
"As this concerns all of our lives it is only appropriate that we should all discuss it. Wolven of Wolf Lake - the debate is open."  
  
And the quiet was shattered as bedlam descended.  
  
After 10 minutes of furious, incoherent, argument, with everyone talking over each other, and half the time making no sense at all, Luke decided to take action. When his first verbal yells for quiet went unheeded he shook his head in annoyance and unleashed his more formidable arsenal.  
  
*QUIET!*  
  
The mental and physical bellow caused every attendee to cringe and abruptly shut up. Comparative silence fell as parents shushed their young offspring hastily and they all turned their attention to their now irritated leader.  
  
"Right - as you obviously can't be trusted to discuss this sensibly we are going to do it in order. You will speak when I tell you to speak," he glared at them all, "and not before. And you will shut up when I tell you as well. Got it?"  
  
The low buzz of the affirmative - *Yes Alpha* murmured throughout the crowd.  
  
"Right," he said, somewhat mollified at this rapid capitulation to authority. "You, Jemson. You go first."  
  
As the first querulous question rose on the night air Sophia raised an eyebrow in surprise at her father.  
  
"When did *Luke* learn to be so diplomatic?"  
  
He favoured her with a slow smile.  
  
"You'll be surprised at what ten years of negotiation and compromise and five years as Alpha can do. Did you know he was virtually uncontested for the leadership? Or that it was the first totally bloodless contest we've ever had? I know you have bad memories - but, and I can't believe I'm saying this to you - he's changed, Sophia. He really has."  
  
She frowned, unconvinced. One negotiation did not make a change of attitude. He would have to do a hell of a lot more to win back HER respect. Her attention snapped back to the debate as an aggressive male voice demanded to know exactly where Sherman had got his information. With narrowed eyes she recognised the voice of Brad Peterson, who had been two years ahead of her at school. He had been a thug and a bully then and it didn't look as if things had changed much.  
  
"Where's your source for this pile of crap? Where's your proof, Sherman?"  
  
Sophia stiffened. Here it came. She rolled her shoulders back and paced out into the middle of the clearing, conscious of the increasing numbers of eyes on her as her presence registered. Her voice rang out into the night air.  
  
"Still causing trouble, Brad? Well you can stop that right now. I'm his proof."  
  
Across the clearing Luke closed his eyes in despair. He had really, really hoped she wouldn't do this. Even he couldn't keep her from the combined scorn and judgement of the Pack.  
  
"You?" Brad's voice rang with scorn and disbelief. "You - the half-breed are the source for all this," he gestured around at the frightened faces, "crap?"  
  
"Technically, yes."  
  
She leaned her head to one side as she regarded him coolly.  
  
"I brought this matter to the attention of Sherman a number of years ago. However it is only recently that he believed it urgent enough to place in front of the whole Pack."  
  
Brad sneered at her.  
  
"And where did a mongrel like you get such - important- information?"  
  
His voice rang with sarcasm and disbelief and the murmurs around the clearing grew louder. Sophia gestured to Cat, and the young girl padded out from the shelter of her increasingly aggravated grandfather's arms. How dare they call his daughter a mongrel?  
  
Cat moved skittishly to her mother's side and nestled there as Sophia put a protective arm around her shoulders.  
  
"This is my daughter. She saw the things that threaten our Pack. She is a Seer - "  
  
anything else she would have said was drowned out by the rising cacophony as the residents of Wolf Lake voiced their worry and disbelief. Sophia pulled Cat in front of her protectively, eyes narrow for the first sign of danger, body tensed. Let them just try to hurt her child. Just as things seemed about to get out of hand another deafening bellow rang out.  
  
*SILENCE!!*  
  
There was an audible whine of pain as the sheer force of the mental blast hit their collective mental pathways. Then as they cringed Luke took the opportunity to regain control.  
  
"You WILL be quiet. And you WILL listen to what Sherman has to say. Otherwise we will have a PROBLEM! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"  
  
The assenting mutter was almost silent, as Sherman stepped forward.  
  
"It is true that this Pack has not had a Seer for over 200 years. But just because we have not - does not mean that the Gods could not send us one now. I can attest that Catrina Donner, daughter of Sophia Donner, granddaughter to Mathew Donner, is indeed a Seer."  
  
A single voice rang out from the back of the crowd.  
  
"But how can you tell? And how do we know that what she sees is true?"  
  
Sherman gazed out over he crowd, his expression inscrutable.  
  
"I have known this child since she was merely an infant. Her mother first called me when she first started having vivid, disturbing dreams. It quickly became clear to me, through a number of small incidents, that Catrina was indeed, dreaming true. The Gods had sent us a Seer again."  
  
He put up a hand.  
  
"And before you ask, the line between dreaming and true dreaming is a very clear one. What Catrina says will come true, sooner or later, will, unless we alter the path that events presently take."  
  
Brad Petersen's voice rang out again, ugly with rage and fear.  
  
"I'll not listen to the mad dreams of a mongrel's bastard get. She's not even one of us. How can we trust her? Even her mother's a failure. She can't flip. She's practically an ungulate!"  
  
The murmurs started to rise to a roar again and Luke and Vivian exchanged worried glances. This could get ugly very quickly. Luke tensed to run forward and drag Sophia out of there. Then he stopped, puzzled, as he focused on what she was doing.  
  
Standing in the middle of the circle, Cat back in her grandfather's protective embrace, Sophia was slowly, methodically, stripping, showing none of the self consciousness he remembered from earlier days. The noise lessened by degrees as the mob realised what she was doing and confused, focused its attention on her. She continued to strip until she stood nude before them, the slight breeze lifting her light brown hair. Luke wasn't the only male whose eyes narrowed appreciatively at the sight. Slowly she rotated, arms out at her sides, palms up, exposing every inch of her lithe form to their inquisitive gaze. Luke frowned in confusion. What was she doing?  
  
She finished her rotation and faced the rock, her arms still held out by her sides, like a supplicant.  
  
"I come before you by right of blood."  
  
Luke frowned even harder. What was she doing? That old ritual hadn't been used for centuries.  
  
"I come before you by right of blood. I come before you with the right to speak."  
  
The murmurs started again as members of the crowd recognised the atavistic ritual.  
  
"By my blood I bind you to listen."  
  
A lone voice rang out in the disturbance.  
  
" You can't invoke that. You're not even Pack." She ignored him and continued.  
  
"By the colour of my coat I bind you to obey."  
  
By the colour of her coat? What did she mean? She didn't even have a coat. She had never even flipped. And no one's coat bound anyone to obey. Unless -  
  
Matt leaned forwardly suddenly. Could she mean - ?  
  
At the other side of the clearing Luke stared in dawning outrage and comprehension.  
  
"Causa mei pellis est albus."  
  
And while they were still taking in the meaning of the ancient phrase she shed her skin as easily as a too large robe and shifted joyfully into her sister soul.  
  
********  
  
Luke coughed, choking, reached out to use the rock behind him to steady himself, only to discover his mother doing exactly the same thing. They both exchanged wild eyed looks of total shock as they turned to look back to the proud Wolven form that stood in the middle of the clearing and arrogantly surveyed the bedlam her actions had caused. She was white. Gleaming, snowy white. From the tip of her elegant, black nosed muzzle to the last hair on her luxuriant tail, she gleamed in front of them like moonlight on snow made incarnate. But it was impossible. Two white Wolven? Could it be a trick of the light? Was it really the mysterious Ruby, slipped in by some sleight of hand? Because how could a half-breed, an ungulate's daughter for God's sake, how could she be a White Wolf?  
  
That hope was quickly dashed as the mysterious Ruby herself came pacing out of the trees to stand beside Sophia, placing a reassuring hand on her elegant, snowy head.  
  
"This is my sister. Her blood is mine. You all know me - I am White Wolven. And I tell you that this is no trick, nor deception."  
  
She paused to survey the hushed and subdued crowd.  
  
"The Goddess never sends a White Wolven unless there is dire need. I have often wondered at my purpose here, as I have never been called upon as we might have expected. I now believe my purpose could not be fulfilled until I could welcome my sister home, back where she belongs."  
  
Sophia surveyed the crowd imperiously, her muzzled raised. Let them mock her family now. Her eyes fell on her father and softened. His pale face showed his utter shock. He had been suspicious that she had flipped, but had not wanted to enquire too deeply. And now she had hit him with a double weight all at once. She glanced momentarily at Luke, who was standing, his face a set mask of pale resolution, leaning against Pack Rock. Then she listened again as Ruby continued.  
  
"The Goddess has given us both this task. To protect and defend this Pack against those who would harm it. This we gladly accept. But we require your obedience in order to succeed. Not your argument or your dissent, but your obedience. We claim it in the name of the coats we share. We are White Wolven. And by the colour of our coats we bind you to obey."  
  
And before any noise of dissent could arise, the air was spilt by a great, echoing howl. On top of Pack Rock, in the place kept for judgement or accession, the great silver wolf that was their Alpha looked down at the upturned faces of the crowd and gave his verdict.  
  
*I am Alpha. Hear me. This is as written. You shall obey.*  
  
And the two white Wolven stood proudly in the middle of a silent, assenting crowd. 


End file.
